Chocolate Leaves For Pistachio Chocolate Buche De Noel Recipes

CHOCOLATE LEAVES FOR PISTACHIO-CHOCOLATE BUCHE DE NOEL

Steps:

• Gently clean the leaves with a damp paper towel. Let dry on a baking sheet.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Heat 4 ounces chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until chocolate registers 118 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove bowl from heat; add remaining 2 ounces chocolate, and stir with a rubber spatula (avoid using a wooden spoon which can impart other flavors) until chocolate cools to 84 degrees. Remove any unmelted pieces; discard, and return bowl to pan. Stir until chocolate reaches 88 degrees to 90 degrees.
• Using a pastry brush, paint veiny undersides of leaves generously with chocolate, covering entire surface. Place leaves, chocolate side up, on lined sheet; refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about 10 minutes.
• Starting from stem ends, carefully peel leaves from chocolate; discard the leaves. Transfer chocolate leaves to a parchment-lined baking sheet; refrigerate until ready to use.

PISTACHIO-CHOCOLATE BUCHE DE NOEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper; spray paper. Into a small bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk yolks and half the sugar until thick and pale. Beat in vanilla. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites, with clean whisk, until soft peaks form. Slowly add remaining sugar; beat until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Fold egg whites into yolk mixture in three batches; add flour mixture with last batch.
• Spread batter evenly on prepared baking sheet. Bake until cake springs back to touch, 15 to 20 minutes. Run a small, sharp knive around edges to loosen, and invert cake onto clean kitchen towel dusted with cocoa powder. Peel off parchment paper. starting at a short side, roll into a log, incorporating towel. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool, about 1 hour.
• Unroll cake; spread ice cream evenly over top, leaving 1/2-inch border on all sides. Reroll (without towel). Arrange, seam side down, on parchment-lined baking sheet; freeze until ice cream is firm, at least 1 hour. Run a serrated knife under hot water and pat dry. Trim ends of log as desired.
• Wrap log in chocolate wood-grain: Tuck one end of chocolate-coated acetate under cake while lifting other end up and over cake (chocolate side should be facing cake), being careful not to let chocolate touch the cake until the sheet is ready to be tucked under at other side. Place, seam side down, on an inverted baking sheet, and return to freezer. Let stand until the chocolate has hardened, about 10 minutes.
• When ready to serve, remove cake from freezer. Carefully peel acetate from cake; gently break off ends of chocolate wrapping to line up with ends of cake. Garnish with chocolate leaves, if desired.

BûCHE DE NOëL (YULE LOG)

Steps:

• If you want to decorate the cake with sugared cranberries and rosemary, start them the night before because they need to sit for several hours. Place cranberries and rosemary in a large bowl; set aside. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup of sugar and the water to a boil and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Remove pan from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Pour sugar syrup over the cranberries and rosemary and stir to combine. Let the cranberries and rosemary sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator (lightly covered) for 6 hours or overnight. You'll notice the sugar syrup is quite thick after this amount of time. Drain the cranberries and rosemary from the syrup and pour 1 cup of sugar on top. Toss to coat. Pour the sugared cranberries and rosemary on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet and let them dry for at least 2 hours at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 12×17 inch baking pan with nonstick spray or grease with butter, so the parchment paper sticks. Then line it with parchment paper so the cake seamlessly releases. Spray or grease the parchment paper too. We want an extremely nonstick surface for this cake roll.
• Whisk the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside until the next step. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and 1/2 cup (100g) sugar together on high speed for 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Transfer to another bowl. Using the same mixing bowl you just had the egg whites in (no need to clean it), add the egg yolks, remaining sugar, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat together on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until thickened and light in color.
• Add half of the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Beat on low speed for 10 seconds. Repeat with remaining egg whites and beat on low for 10 seconds. Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low or fold with a rubber spatula until combined. Repeat with remaining flour mixture. Avoid over-mixing and deflating those egg whites. Batter will be very light.
• Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Gently bang the pan on the counter a couple times to pop any air bubbles. Bake for 18-19 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly poked with your finger. Cake will look a little bubbly on top when it's done. That's ok. Avoid over-baking cake because it will crack if over-baked. As the cake bakes, get started on the next step.
• As the cake bakes, place a piece of parchment paper (larger than the cake) or a thin kitchen/tea towel flat on the counter. (Note: I find a kitchen towel is better to help prevent cracking.) Using a fine mesh sieve, dust parchment/towel with 3 Tablespoons (15g) of cocoa powder. Once the cake comes out of the oven, quickly run a knife around the edges to loosen it. Immediately invert it onto the parchment/towel. Peel off the parchment paper that was on the bottom of the cake as it baked. Starting with the narrow end, begin tightly rolling the hot cake up with the parchment/towel. Do this slowly and gently. The cake will be warm. Allow the cake to cool completely rolled up in the parchment/towel. Feel free to place it in the refrigerator to speed it up, about 3 hours and up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 200°F (93°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a completely clean residue-free large glass or metal mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg white, cream of tartar, and salt together on high speed until foamy, about 2 minutes- this is a small amount and the whisk on a stand mixer might not reach it, so whisk by hand until foamy if needed. With the mixer running on high speed, slowly add the sugar and beat until stiff glossy peaks form, about 2 more minutes. Snip off the end of a plastic bag or fit a round piping tip in a piping bag. I use and recommend Wilton 2A piping tip or any tip with around a 1/2 inch opening. Pipe quarter-sized circles (these will be the round mushroom tops) and 1-inch tall cones (these will be the stems). You will have enough meringue batter for about 16 mushrooms. I usually only make 8-12 and discard leftovers, but feel free to make all 16. Using a moistened finger (just a dab of water is fine), smooth down any peaks. If desired, lightly dust mushroom tops with cocoa powder using a fine mesh sieve. Bake for 2 hours. Do not open the oven as the meringues bake. Turn off the oven after 2 hours and let the meringues sit inside the cooling oven for 20 minutes. Remove meringues from the oven and cool completely. When they're just about cool, melt the 1 ounce of chocolate in a double boiler or use the microwave. If using the microwave, melt in 15 second increments, stopping and stirring between each until melted and smooth. Cool for 5-10 minutes. (Easier to adhere mushrooms if the melted chocolate is a bit cool.) Once meringues have cooled, use a flat spatula to remove them from the baking sheets. Dot a bit of chocolate onto the center of the bottom of a mushroom top. Adhere a mushroom stem to it. Place back on the baking sheet to set. If stems or tops still have a little peak, scrape off with a knife or your spatula, as you see me do in the video above. Leaning them against the rim is helpful if they keep toppling over. Repeat with remaining tops and stems to form mushrooms. Let chocolate cool and harden, about 1 hour.
• Remove the cake roll from the refrigerator and allow to sit on the counter for a few minutes to warm up as you prepare the whipped cream.
• Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, Frangelico, confectioners' sugar, and cocoa powder on medium-high speed until medium to stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes.
• Gently and very slowly unroll the cake. Spread whipped cream evenly on top, leaving about a 1/2 inch border around the cake. I like using a large or small offset spatula to spread. Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts on top. Gently roll the cake back up, without the parchment/towel this time. Roll it slowly. This part is messy. Carefully place on a cutting board. If the exterior of the cake looks moist, dust with a little cocoa powder. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days before shaping and topping with ganache.
• Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil- that's too hot.) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Ganache will be thin, so it has to thicken before using. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour to thicken.
• Remove rolled cake from the refrigerator. Diagonally slice a 3-4 inch section off one end. At this point, I usually place the cake on a serving platter. Place the angled side against a side of the roll, forming a branch. Slowly pour and spread thickened ganache all over the top and sides of cake. Feel free to leave the cut ends exposed (as you see in these photos) or spread ganache over the ends- there should be plenty of ganache to use. Use a fork to make textured lines resembling tree bark. Feel free to wipe the serving plate if ganache dripped all over.
• Decorate with meringue mushrooms, sugared cranberries and rosemary, and a dusting of confectioners' sugar just before serving.
• Cover leftover cake and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

BUCHE DE NOEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whip cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thick and stiff. Refrigerate.
• In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale. Blend in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and salt. In large glass bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, and beat until whites form stiff peaks. Immediately fold the yolk mixture into the whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Dust a clean dishtowel with confectioners' sugar. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and turn the warm cake out onto the towel. Remove and discard parchment paper. Starting at the short edge of the cake, roll the cake up with the towel. Cool for 30 minutes.
• Unroll the cake, and spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll the cake up with the filling inside. Place seam side down onto a serving plate, and refrigerate until serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

BUCHE DE NOEL

Steps:

• Make chocolate genoise and mousse, ganache icing, and meringue mushrooms.
• To assemble cake, carefully unroll genoise on the back side of a baking sheet (discard the plastic wrap and waxed paper, but keep the towel). Spread chocolate mousse evenly on cake to within 1 to 2 inches of one long end. Reroll cake, starting from other long end, using towel to help roll it. Cover with plastic wrap; chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• Place cake, seam side down, on a serving platter; tuck parchment around it to keep platter clean while decorating.
• Whip ganache at medium speed until it has the consistency of soft butter. Cut two wedges off ends of cake at a 45-degree angle; set aside. Ice log with a thin layer of ganache. Attach wedges on diagonally opposite sides of log. Spread ganache all over log, using a small spatula to form barklike ridges. Chill until ganache is firm, about 30 minutes.
• In the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, melt chocolate until smooth. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Spread melted chocolate 1/8 inch thick over parchment. Refrigerate until cold, 10 to 15 minutes. Roll paper back and forth until chocolate splinters; sprinkle over cake. Chill cake until ready to serve.
• When ready to serve, arrange meringue mushrooms around and on cake, and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar.

CARDAMOM-PISTACHIO BûCHE DE NOëL

Steps:

• Make the Meringue Mushrooms:
• Preheat oven to 250°F. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a large bowl until foamy and the yellowish tinge has disappeared, about 2 minutes. With the motor running, add granulated sugar about 1 Tbsp. at a time until mixture is very stiff and shiny, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer meringue to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2" round pastry tip (or a freezer bag with a 1/2" opening cut from one bottom corner). Pipe 12 mounds ranging in size from 1"-1 1/2" in diameter for the mushroom caps on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Pipe 12 cones straight up about 1 1/2" high for the mushroom stems. With a lightly damp finger, tamp down points on rounds. Sprinkle rounds with cocoa powder. Pipe extra tops and stems with remaining meringue as backups.
• Bake meringues until dry and set, about 2 hours. Open oven door 10 minutes to release any steam. Turn oven off, shut door, and let meringues dry out completely, about 2 hours longer or up to overnight.
• When ready to assemble, melt chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl in microwave, stirring every 10 seconds, until melted, about 20 seconds. Using an offset spatula, release meringues from parchment. Using a paring knife, make a small hole in the center of flat side of each mushroom cap. Spread some chocolate on flat side, then stick top of stem into hole. Return to parchment and repeat with remaining tops and stems. Let mushrooms stand at room temperature until chocolate is firm.
• Make the Pistachio Filling:
• Combine pistachios and milk in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until pistachios are very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove and skim off any loose pistachio skins.
• Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 2 Tbsp. water in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes.
• Transfer pistachio mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth. Return mixture to saucepan and whisk in egg yolks, granulated sugar, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until mixture begins to thicken but do not let boil, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin mixture and almond extract. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.
• Make the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
• Whisk egg whites, granulated sugar, and salt in a large heatproof bowl. Set bowl over a pot of simmering water (do not let bowl touch water) and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture becomes fluffy and opaque and you can't feel any grains of sugar when you rub mixture between two fingers, about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from heat.
• Melt chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl in microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, until melted, about 1 minute. Let cool slightly.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg white mixture until cool, glossy, and fluffy, about 10 minutes. (A stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment makes this job much easier!) Add butter one piece at a time, beating until fully incorporated before adding the next, until fluffy and smooth, another 4 minutes. If mixture looks curdled, switch to the paddle attachment and/or apply a little bit of heat to underside of bowl with a washcloth dipped in hot water and continue to beat until smooth. Beat in chocolate and vanilla extract until combined.
• Do Ahead: Frosting can be made 3 days ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and chill. Bring to room temperature and beat to desired consistency.
• Make the Cardamom Sponge Cake and Brandy Syrup:
• Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. Grease an 18x13" rimmed baking sheet with oil. Line with parchment paper and grease parchment.
• Using electric mixer on high speed, beat egg yolks and 1/4 cup water in a large bowl until doubled in size and thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the motor running, gradually add 1 cup granulated sugar, a little at a time, until mixture is very thick. Beat in vanilla.
• Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 tsp. cardamom over egg yolk mixture and fold gently to combine (it will be very thick).
• Using electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar in another clean large bowl until foamy and the yellowish tinge has disappeared, about 1 minute. Beat in 1/2 cup granulated sugar, about 1 Tbsp. at a time, until shiny, medium stiff peaks form. Fold about one-quarter of egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture to loosen. Fold remaining egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture until combined.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Bake cake until puffed and set and springs back when gently poked in the center, 15-20 minutes. Transfer cake to a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes.
• Set a clean dish towel on a work surface and dust completely with powdered sugar. Cut around edges of cake with a sharp paring knife. Invert cake onto prepared towel; remove parchment. Without squishing the cake and starting on long side, gently roll up cake in towel. Transfer cake to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• While cake cools, make the brandy syrup. Cook remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 tsp. cardamom with 2 Tbsp. water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in brandy. Let cool.
• Make the Chocolate Bark and Assemble:
• Melt chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl in microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, until melted, about 1 minute. Using an offset spatula, spread melted chocolate across a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Sift cocoa over and freeze bark until solid, about 10 minutes.
• Gently unroll cake. With a pastry brush, evenly brush with brandy syrup until all syrup is absorbed. Spread filling evenly over cake and roll it back up without towel.
• Transfer to a platter. Trim ends. Cut off about 3" from both ends on a diagonal. Place angled side of each small piece against roll to create branches, positioning one on top and the other on the side, using a large dab of frosting to adhere. Cover any exposed cake on sides with more frosting.
• Break chocolate bark into long shards and press into cake in a decorative pattern. Top and surround cake with meringue mushrooms. Use pistachios to create "moss" on and around log. Dust with powdered sugar.

CHOCOLATE LEAVES FOR PISTACHIO-CHOCOLATE BUCHE DE NOEL

Steps:

• Gently clean the leaves with a damp paper towel. Let dry on a baking sheet.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside. Heat two-thirds of chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water until chocolate registers 118°on a candy thermometer. Remove bowl from heat; add remaining chocolate, and stir with a rubber spatula (avoid using a wooden spoon which can impart other flavors)until chocolate cools to 84°. Remove any unmelted pieces; discard, and return bowl to pan. Stir until chocolate reaches 88° to 90°.
• Using a pastry brush, paint veiny underside of leaves generously with chocolate, covering entire surface. Place painted leaves, chocolate side up, on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate the leaves until chocolate is firm, about 10 minutes.
• Starting from stem ends, carefully peel leaves from chocolate, and discard leaves. Transfer chocolate leaves to a clean parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate until ready to use.